1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates broadly to garment hangers. More particularly, this invention relates to a removable top size indicator for garment hangers.
2. State of the Art
For purposes of displaying garments suspended on hangers in an orderly and informative manner to the retail customer, certain retail stores use hangers with an indicator where the indicator is visible to the customers. The indicator identifies some attribute of the garment suspended from the hanger, such as size, quality, color, manufacturing data, or pattern.
To accommodate the various types of hangers available in the industry, numerous top indicators have been developed in a variety of shapes, sizes and materials. Specialty hangers including a molded plastic hook are relatively inexpensive to manufacture and are used to hold lighter weight garments. Given that the hook is molded, it has been relatively easy to modify the hook portion of the hanger to accommodate a variety of different indicators at the top of the hanger. Generally, the molded hook is formed with an upper web, and a commonly rectangular indicator is then engaged over the web. This has not been an option for metal hook hangers.
Hangers with metal hooks are extremely common. They are primarily used to hold heavier garments, e.g., pants and jackets. The metal hooks do not have dedicated structure for receiving and maintaining a highly visible indicator in a desired orientation. The indicators for metal hook hangers are generally either disc-like tally indicators positionable over the hook and seatable on the hanger at the location where the hook and hanger are joined, or “side-sizer” indicators which snap over a specially designed portion of the hanger below the hook. Each such indicator has less than desirable visibility because the location of attachment limits its size and the indicator is positioned below the hanger support bar when the hanger and garment are displayed in the retail environment.